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New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus Supports Nuclear Power

The New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus overwhelmingly voted to support nuclear power, giving 90% of its vote to the House and Senate bills. Only two out of twenty members voted against legislation to keep two of the states nuclear plants open. AAEA encouraged the members to support the legislation.

Clearly, the NJ Legislative Black Caucus understands that minority communities are particularly vulnerable to air related illnesses with the highest rates of asthma attack, emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the state. These vulnerable communities are helped by the ability of Hope Creek and Salem nuclear facilities to deliver incredible amounts of baseload electricity without producing any of the air pollution that hurts these areas.

Senate and House legislators in New Jersey passed S2313 and A3724, companion bills that will ensure the continued operation of the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants in that state. Salem and Hope Creek power plants support more than 5,000 jobs, produce enough electricity to power 3 million homes per day and provide more than 90 percent of the state's zero-carbon electricity. The bills preserve more than $800 million in annual economic activity across New Jersey.

AAEA testified at hearings in December 2017 and in February 2018 in support of the legislation. Our phone calls to legislators and an Op Ed the day before the vote also hopefully helped in convincing legislators to support the bills. AAEA concentrated on the health effects of closing the plants.

The passage of these bills in New Jersey comes in the wake of similar actions taken by lawmakers in New York and Illinois who recognized the economic and environmental benefits of commercial nuclear energy in those states.